Electronic devices for monitoring the locomotion (e.g., walking, jogging, or running) of people are known in the art. Most commonly, one or more impact-sensitive sensors, e.g., contact switches, piezoelectric sensors, etc., are placed in a sole of a shoe to sense when the shoe comes into contact with and/or leaves the ground. Typically, such sensors are embedded in the heel and/or toe portion(s) of the shoe's sole, and outputs thereof are fed to a processor or other electronic device.
In a device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,649,552 ("the '552 device"), for example, a contact switch is fixed to the undersurface of a removable insole of a shoe, such that each footstep of the person wearing the shoe causes the contact switch to close. In the '552 device, the two leads of the contact switch are fed (via a cable) to a mount base including a pair of electrical terminals, with a respective terminal being connected to each lead. In addition, an electronic counter is detachably mounted to the mount base such that, when mated together, a pair of terminals on the electronic counter electrically contact the pair of terminals on the mount base, so that the counter can count the number of footsteps the user takes by counting the number of times the contact switch closes.
It is also known to secure a sensor to the instep portion of a shoe to sense when the shoe flexes during footsteps of a person wearing the shoe. In a device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,651,446 ("the '446 device"), for example, the two leads from an instep-mounted contact switch (which is closed when a person's shoe flexes during footsteps) are fed to a mount base including a pair of electrical terminals, with one lead being connected to each terminal. As with the '552 device, the '446 device includes an electronic counter which is detachably mounted to the mount base such that, when mated together, a pair of terminals on the electronic counter electrically contact the pair of terminals on the mount base, so that the electronic counter may count the number of times the instep-mounted contact switch closes when the user's foot flexes, thereby counting the number of footsteps taken by the user.